Politico is running a
piece today that discusses Drudge's apparent support of Obama. While folks on the left generally dismiss Drudge (he did a great job of sinking Gore and Kerry), the piece suggests that getting a pass from him is a coup to Obama who will need the PR support in the fall. A couple of sections I particularly enjoyed:
Now, as Obama and Senator John McCain
look toward the fall, Drudge has emerged unexpectedly as more of a
threat to the Republican than to the Democrat. This, combined with the
rise of left-leaning sites such as Talking Points Memo and Huffington
Post—both of which have proven effective in promoting and amplifying a
Democratic message—reflects a major shift from the last two
presidential elections, a matter of open alarm to Republican
strategists and surprised satisfaction to Democrats.
Drudge himself is reviled by many on the left, but his news instincts
are undeniable—and he has an uncanny ability to drive the national
conversation with what he chooses to highlight on his site.
Now, while his links tend to stress the energy and scale of the Obama
phenomenon, he has emphasized a particularly damaging aspect of
McCain’s candidacy: his age.
I find this all terribly interesting - of course I haven't been a fan of Drudge since the Lewinsky mess, but it seems like Drudge is in a unique position with the right to make a switch and have it work in Obama's favor; his reporting is correct just often enough for him to have a little begrudging credibility (a little!) with the left, but he's also far enough outside the MSM to put a slant on his reporting - even when it slants in Obama's direction - without raising "journalistic" eyebrows or ruffling the feathers of his usual readers. In other words, Drudge can be pro-Obama without losing his base or prompting liberals to think, "alright, what are we not seeing...what's wrong with Obama" (which couldn't be true if Rush Limbaugh suddenly started talking about his benefits on the air).
All together, it isn't like the MSM has been especially unbiased or objective this campaign season (if anything they loved throwing gas on the drama fire), so it's interesting to see a guy who *never* claimed impartiality suddenly reversing sides.
(side note - click recommend! I've never passed 10, and I'm feeling good today!)
